Dean Lays Out a Domestic Plan to Wake Up His Party

Howard Dean sketched out an expansive ''new social compact for working families'' on Thursday but did so in a way that immediately put him at odds with the moderate wing of his party over domestic issues.

Making explicit reference to Bill Clinton's politically groundbreaking declaration in 1996 that the ''era of big government is over,'' Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, called for a new era for Democrats -- ''not one where we join Republicans and aim simply to limit the damage they inflict on working families.''

Dr. Dean also stood by his contention that Saddam Hussein's capture did not make America safer, saying that ''the capture of one bad man does not mean that this president and the Washington Democrats can declare victory in the war on terror.''

Dr. Dean's speech had been promoted in advance by his campaign and was intended to pull together all of his domestic stands and chart a course for Democrats after four years of a Bush presidency.

He said that Mr. Clinton had moved the country toward the middle, ''but under President Bush the country's moved toward the far right, and if you want to move the country back toward the middle, which I want to do, you've got to talk about issues that other folks are apparently unwilling to talk about.''

Dr. Dean proposed a ''social contract'' built on affordable health insurance and child care; a savings plan to help families prepare for retirement; and a ''College Commitment,'' guaranteeing $10,000 in student financial assistance through a mix of grants and loans, depending on family finances.

But the reference to Mr. Clinton by Dr. Dean escalated the tensions between him and the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party.

Called for comment, Bruce Reed, a former Clinton adviser who is now president of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, said, ''He took a cheap shot at Clintonism which wasn't appreciated.'' Mr. Reed added: ''You know it just doesn't make any sense. One day Dean says Americans are no better off with Saddam out of power, now he seems to be saying Democrats are better off with Bill Clinton out of power.''

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, one of Dr. Dean's rivals for the democratic presidential nomination, denounced the speech in a conference call with reporters, saying that he ''could not believe'' that Dr. Dean would separate himself from Bill Clinton's record.

''We're not going to lift up America or the Democratic Party by tearing down Bill Clinton's extraordinary record of economic success,'' Mr. Lieberman said.

Under Dr. Dean's proposals students would have to pay no more than 10 percent of their income to repay college loans, and for no more than 10 years, while those who work as nurses, teachers, police officers, or in other selected jobs would have to pay no more than 7 percent.

He also warned that Americans faced a hidden ''Bush tax'' in coming years: $52,000 more in each family's share of the national debt, soaring property taxes, and cuts in services by states in fiscal crisis.

''To fight the Bush tax, Democrats need to do more than damage control,'' Dr. Dean said. ''While Bill Clinton said that the era of big government is over, I think we have to enter a new era for the Democratic Party, not one where we join Republicans and aim simply to limit the damage they inflict on working families.''

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Dr. Dean said the social contract was a two-way street requiring individuals to meet their civic responsibilities, and promised to demand accountability from big business.

''It's time for corporate America to clean up its act,'' he said. He also said corporations bear only 10 percent of the tax burden compared with 90 percent for individuals. ''That balance needs to change,'' he said.

Dr. Dean's criticism of the corporate world drew a barb from another rival, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. ''It's really interesting to see Howard Dean campaign against tax shelters and corporate abuse when he spent time as governor creating tax shelters for companies like Enron,'' Mr. Kerry said, referring to reports that, as governor, Dr. Dean gave tax breaks to insurance companies, including an Enron subsidiary, that set up in Vermont.

Dr. Dean also fired back at his Democratic rivals, who had attacked him three days running for saying America was made no safer by the capture of Saddam Hussein. He skewered the ''Washington politics-as-usual club,'' which he said had supported the Iraq war when it was popular and was paying the price.

Continuing to insist that America had not been made secure, Dr. Dean, whose antiwar stance has propelled him to the top of the polls in states with early voting, cited the threats posed by stateless terrorists, loose nuclear materials and porous borders and seaports.

''We are no safer today than we were the day the planes struck at the World Trade Center,'' he declared.

''I think the Democratic Party has to offer a clear alternative to the American people,'' Dr. Dean said.

The dispute over Dr. Dean's views on Iraq comes in a week when some of his own statements have come back to haunt him.

Speaking on his campaign plane Tuesday night, he was asked about a radio interview in which he had raised a ''most interesting theory'' -- that the Bush administration had been warned by Saudi Arabia before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The president on Monday called this an ''absurd insinuation.''

Dr. Dean said he had only been answering a question about the ''theory'' and remarked that the president and vice president had put forward assertions last year about the threat to the United States from Iraq.

''There were all these theories that they mentioned,'' he told reporters Tuesday. ''Many of them turned out not to be true. The difference is that I acknowledged that I did not believe the theory I was putting out.''

Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, who is locked in a tight battle with Dr. Dean in Iowa, called his rival's statement about Mr. Hussein's capture ''ludicrous.'' In a conference call with reporters, he added that it was ''absolutely wrong and belies a lack of experience in foreign policy in dealing with a lot of these issues.''

As for Dr. Dean's repeating theories that he disavows, Mr. Gephardt said, ''If it's untrue, you shouldn't be saying it.'' He added that ''in a time of terrorism,'' voters would stick with the president ''if they have doubts about the experience and the ability, the steady hands, of the alternative.''

David M. Halbfinger reported from New Hampshire and Diane Cardwell from New York for this article.